Asked to describe the impossible, one might suggest that an expert fairly describe the historic, legal, and practical processes that define his or her field in just over 100 pages. Harder still if the result must be readable to the uninitiated while...

“Do Fish Sleep?” by Judith S. Weis of Rutgers University is a new book about, what else, fish. It follows closely on the heels of a book she co-wrote with a colleague, “Salt Marshes: A Natural and Unnatural History.”

Two recently published poetry books by East Hampton Town residents merit the attention of serious poets and casual readers alike. Naomi Lazard’s “Ordinances,” winner of the 2010 ReBound Prize , and Fran Castan’s “Venice: City That Paints Itself”...